Carn Brea Castle
Carn Brea (Cornish:
Carn Bre) is a civil
parish and hilltop site in Cornwall,
United Kingdom. The hilltop
site is situated approximately one mile (1.6 km) southwest of Redruth.
Neolithic settlement
The earliest Neolithic settlement at
Carn Brea was a tor enclosure
occupied between around 3700 and 3400 BC. A two acre (8,000 m²) inner
enclosure was surrounded by a larger eleven acre (45,000 m²) one. The
ramparts consisted of stone walls with an earth bank and ditch. Traces of fourteen
platforms on which would have stood Neolithic
long houses have been found by archaeologists
within its ramparts along with pottery and flint artifacts.
The site was excavated between 1970 and 1973 by Roger
Mercer. A population of 100 to 150 people has been suggested. There is evidence
that the occupants cleared the surroundings by burning away the undergrowth
and removing stones to use the land for farming. The acid soils of the area
precluded the preservation of any environmental evidence which would have provided
more information on this aspect. Nearby outcrops of rock suitable for manufacture
as axes would have contributed to the village's
economy. Edge grinding stones, blanks
and incomplete and finished axes found on the site indicate that the inhabitants
were accomplished stoneworkers and traded their products to others. That the
pottery found on the site appears to have come from a production centre almost
20 miles (30 km) to south in the present day parish of St
Keverne further supports a complex economic network in the area.
The seven hundred flint arrowheads found scattered at the site suggest that
Carn Brea may have been attacked at least once. Every timber structure on the
site had been burnt, the charcoal being the only organic matter that survived
the acid soils. The earthworks themselves may also have been deliberately damaged
by an invading power.
Iron Age settlement
In the Iron Age the site was re-occupied
and minerals were mined from the hillside. A hoard
of Kentish gold staters
found in the eighteenth century suggests trade links with the other side of
the country at this time.
The Ravenna Cosmography,
of around 700AD, makes reference to Purocoronavis, (almost certainly a corruption
of Durocornovium), 'a fort or walled settlement of the Cornovii',
(unidentified, but possibly Tintagel or
Carn Brea).
Landmarks
- Carn Brea Castle
- The medieval Carn Brea Castle stands near the top of the hill. This was
originally built as a chapel, in 1379, probably dedicated to St
Michael, before being rebuilt in the 18th century by the Basset family
as a hunting lodge. It is considered a Folly
castle, due to the huge uncut boulders that make up part of its foundations,
giving the impression of the building melting into the land. The castle is
about 20 feet square and 40 feet high, which once contained two timber floors,
as may be seen from the beam-holes, windows, and chimneys, and a roof platform.
There is but one entrance into it, through a small hole cut in the rock under
the foundations. It stands at the E. end of the Carn Brea hill, on a ledge
of vast rocks, which have been connected by arches turned across the cavities
between the rocks. One part is ancient and is loopholed, but the other is
of more modern construction, and seems to have been built in order to command
the very extensive view.In the 1980s the abandoned building was converted
into a Middle
Eastern cuisine restaurant. The stolen Ford Anglia featured in the Harry
Potter films was found at the Castle in 2006. An East India trading ship
was named after Carn Brea Castle, wrecked off the Isle of Wight in 1829 and
involved in excise tax fraud.
- Basset Monument
- At the highest point of the hill there is a 90 foot high (30m) Celtic
cross. This is a monument to Francis
Basset, 1st Baron de Dunstanville and Basset (b. 1757, d. 1835). Basset,
a mine owner, gained his titles for erecting earthworks to defend Plymouth
from combined French and Spanish fleets in 1779, and suppressing a miners'
"food riot" in 1785. Along with others, he petitioned the House of Lords against
slavery in 1828. The monument was erected by public subscription in 1836.
It is inscribed 'The County of Cornwall to the memory of Francis Lord de Dunstanville
and Basset A.D. 1836.'
- Cup and Saucer Rock
- This large flat rock is perched next to the Monument showing several deep
basins (see Photograph).
This rock has also been called The Sacrificing Rock (though with doubtful
historical accuracy).
- Smugglers' Cave
- In a depression between the Monument and the Castle is the remains of the
Smugglers' Cave blocked by the Council in the 1980s with rocks to stop
children from entering. This tunnel is rumoured to travel from the top of
the Carn down into Redruth town but is likely to have been abandoned mine
workings. This may have been confused with the separate tunnel running from
the castle down to St Uny’s church which was blocked off for safety reasons
ca. 1970 by the castle owners.
- Saint Euny's Well
- This well can be found at the foot of Carn Brea below the Castle and near St Euny's Church. It has a plaque by Carn Brea Parish Trails reading "St Euny Well. Holy well of St Euny visited by the Celtic Missionary 500AD". Stories about the sacred use of this well may be confused with St Euny's Well at Sancreed (see Carn Euny).
Events
- Easter
- At Easter Redruth Baptist Church erects a lit cross on the outcrop behind the Castle overlooking Redruth. For many years an early morning sun rise service has been held for local Christian worshippers on Easter Sunday.
- Midsummer Eve
- The Midsummer
Eve (St.
John's Eve, 23 June) bonfire ceremony dates from a pagan
ritual. Prayers are read in Cornish
and the bonfire is lit, signalling other fires to be lit at Sennen,
Sancreed Beacon, Carn
Galver to the Tamar. When only
the embers remain, young people leap across them to drive away evil and bring
luck.
- Boxing Day
- The Boxing Day meet of the Four
Burrow Hunt starts at the top of Carn Brea. Due to the changes in fox
hunting legislation foxes are no longer hunted.
